Search found 32 matches

by allenneal99
Fri Jul 23, 2021 10:41 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: How is the Amazon Prime Rewards Visa Signature Card
Replies: 107
Views: 11717

Re: How is the Amazon Prime Rewards Visa Signature Card

I have the card and I think it is great. No issues. Do consider that you do need Prime membership ($119/year) to take advantage of the 5% cash back for shopping at Amazon and Whole Foods. Without the Prime membership the cash back % is reduced.
by allenneal99
Wed Dec 30, 2020 2:29 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Wet sugar jar mystery
Replies: 32
Views: 4106

Re: Wet sugar jar mystery

It is possible the container is the symptom and not the cause. Did you recently change brands or type of sugar? Maybe the sugar has a higher moisture content than usual.
by allenneal99
Sun Nov 22, 2020 4:59 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Killed grass with too much fertilizer
Replies: 51
Views: 4201

Re: Killed grass with too much fertilizer

KILL, TILL, FILL And SOD

https://ktrh.iheart.com/content/2019-02 ... l-and-sod/

You've already done the Kill part. If by SE you mean Texas or thereabouts then you should be able to lay the St. Augustine in November through December. After Tilling, the important piece will be Filling in with some good topsoil. You should then be good to go.
by allenneal99
Fri Aug 16, 2019 2:05 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Luggage Tracker
Replies: 18
Views: 1525

Re: Luggage Tracker

It may depend on the range you are expecting. As stated earlier -- "Tile" has a range of ~300ft so you can find your luggage in an airport or somewhere close. If you're talking about your luggage being somewhere far away or temporarily lost by transport...then you may consider getting a cheap smart phone with a "find-my-phone" or "find-my-kid" app installed on it and tuck it in your luggage. You could program the phone to automatically turn off during the expected flight time and turn back on during the expected arrival time. If wi-fi, GPS and everything is turned on for the phone then it should be found just about anywhere within a decent proximity of cell towers + wifi & your position. I know iPhones have...
by allenneal99
Sat Mar 10, 2018 5:01 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Server Changed TIP amount - 3rd time in a month
Replies: 50
Views: 7366

Re: Server Changed TIP amount - 3rd time in a month

I go to the same places (fast food/fast casual) and there usually is not a receipt to even sign. As a matter of fact, I usually have to ask for the receipt. A tip amount should not show up on any charge if you didn't sign a receipt that is returned to the merchant. I would recommend notifying your credit card company and then complain to the manager of each establishment. They may or may not be aware of this. This would be similar to "skimming" the register. Not saying anything criminal is going on but it is possible management is not manually settling the transactions each night and probably doesn't notice it. There may be an assumption that people don't scrutinize their credit card statements anymore and not notice small amounts...
by allenneal99
Mon Oct 26, 2015 2:24 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Recomendation for a good sheet set
Replies: 22
Views: 3163

Re: Recomendation for a good sheet set

You may want to try the Jersey Knit sheets. They have them at Target and Walmart and some other places too. They are not too expensive. I bought some 6 months ago and have been very pleased with them. They come in various brands -- Jersey knit is the type of knit I guess, kinda like a t-shirt. There are 2 types, one is 100% cotton and the other is 50% cotton/polyester, so read the label. I actually like the 50% cotton blend one as it is cooler and I don't sweat in it. They are very soft and comfortable sheets. The next recommendation would be Egyptian Long staple cotton sheets (or ELS). Which may be pricier, but you shouldn't be disappointed. I have always liked them and they last a long time. They are hard to find for my size bed (Queen) a...
by allenneal99
Fri Feb 28, 2014 3:59 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: 2010 Volvo V50 2.4i
Replies: 12
Views: 1427

Re: 2010 Volvo V50 2.4i

I used to own the 2009 V50 T5 AWD. It was a great car and I would only recommend the AWD version because of its sportiness and handling, but they're tough to find. I've been a longtime "brick" owner of other years/models. I would not buy any car sight unseen or without the ability to take it to a shop to get inspected or test drive it myself. Funny that the car you're looking at is coming from my city -- Houston. Do you have access to an Independent Volvo repair place? You should check on that first. I have access to at least 3-4 Independent shops in my area that are pretty reputable, so it is not a problem to take care of the "little" annoyances that crop up with these cars. I would only go to the Volvo dealer for repai...
by allenneal99
Thu Feb 20, 2014 9:47 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Tools for developing PHP / MySQL-based data driven web site?
Replies: 74
Views: 10707

Re: Tools for developing PHP / MySQL-based data driven web s

tidalwave10, You want to look into a PHP MySQL CRUD generator. They can be used to build out some of the PHP pages with functional code based on your existing MySQL data schema. CRUD = Create, Read, Update, Delete. This type of tool is used all the time to create functional "mock-up's" with little to no coding. More specific business rules will require custom PHP development. Using a CRUD generator will be a good start for basic pages and beyond. One example is sqlmaestro.com, which offers a visual way to do this. There are free and pay versions. You can google for others. It is worth it if you feel your project is big enough or you intend to use it for other projects. Other CRUD generators are part of PHP frameworks like Yii, Sym...
by allenneal99
Thu Jan 30, 2014 3:58 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Low Income Budget
Replies: 70
Views: 7672

Re: Low Income Budget

klarose, I don't see any issues with your budget. I would suggest maybe breaking it down a little further on the expenses, if they apply to you, by delineating: - home insurance (if any) - property/home taxes (if any) - utilities - internet - pet costs (if any) - home repairs (rough guesstimate) - memberships/fees/dues - groceries (unless you eat out a lot) I would also suggest considering a Traditional IRA instead of a Roth IRA. I suggest because, if you qualify for it, a) you and your significant other do not seem to have a 401k or other retirement plan, and b) this could offer some near-term tax benefit to you/both--you are at the income level where you may be able to fully deduct it from your taxes (consider it an employer match, but fr...
by allenneal99
Tue Sep 24, 2013 4:54 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: The Rent is Late
Replies: 31
Views: 6767

Re: The Rent is Late

Randomize, I hope this works out for the both of you. But, if you still have a mortgage the property, then you need to start considering your own circumstance. From the information I have read so far, it seems that they cannot afford to pay the rent anymore. It also seems that they could not afford to buy the house in the first place. In my experience, and the way this is headed, you will eventually have to begin the eviction process. I'm not saying do it now, but you should review the Fair Housing Laws for your County/City and get familiar with the eviction process. You should also create a paper trail. Document everything. I know they don't come across as bad tenants, but desperate times call for desperate measures -- and when someone is ...
by allenneal99
Tue Sep 24, 2013 10:51 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Motley Fool ONE Feedback
Replies: 19
Views: 4571

Re: Motley Fool ONE Feedback

I used to use their paid services in the past. The content and articles (both free and paid) used to be very informative. Unfortunately, I've recently found all of their articles and even paid premium subscription articles/newsletters are just "up-sells" (aka cross promotions) to other "newer + better" services. The ONE service sounds like the old "Million Dollar Portfolio" service they ran a few years back. It was exclusive to a certain few and you had to get in on it during a short window. Enter your email address and they will contact you type of thing now. I just don't go to the fool site anymore. Ironically, it was some of their book recommendations from their Hidden Gems service that eventually led me to ...
by allenneal99
Mon Aug 12, 2013 10:57 am
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Why aren't Car dealers prepared to deal?
Replies: 91
Views: 13324

Re: Why aren't Car dealers prepared to deal?

It may be too early in the month, they are not hungry enough yet. You may want to try again toward the end of the month or near the end of the quarter. Car sales people are creatures of habit and highly competitive.

You also state you called to negotiate. It may be more advantageous to physically go there to discuss pricing. Walking away via a phone call is just not as dramatic as walking away in person. I would suggest to schedule an appointment early on a weekday.

I would imagine buying any car now (2013) is much different than when I purchased a car in the summer of 2009. Car dealerships were literally giving cars away then. There seem to be record car sales now, I believe.
by allenneal99
Mon Jul 22, 2013 3:02 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Expensive repairs on an old car. Opinions?
Replies: 76
Views: 4656

Re: Expensive repairs on an old car. Opinions?

As my expected value of the car is $0, any repairs are exceeding its half. It is my only vehicle and getting alternative transportation is difficult, because using public transport here is very difficult. On the other hand, with my currently low mileage I can wait. I think. Victoria Your sixteen year old low mileage civic is worth more than you may think. That is a broke college students dream right there. I know several that could easily "find" $2000 for that thing. Your repairs are the usual wear and tear and do not seem detrimental to the operation of the car...yet. If cost is the issue, an option is to spread out the repairs over a few months/weeks. I used to do this when I drove really old cars and had very little money. Jus...
by allenneal99
Fri Jul 12, 2013 9:46 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Questions to ask before joining Board of Directors
Replies: 5
Views: 947

Re: Questions to ask before joining Board of Directors

I have enjoyed serving on several local and national affiliated boards. The questions I have asked are: What is it's mission statement? What are my board duties and what is expected of me? Will I be assigned to a committee? Will I be expected to do fund raising and if so, in what manner? What is the board makeup (numbers and officers)? Who is presently on the board? Does the board supply liability insurance? Insurance may be important according to what the charity does. They sometimes do (such as Rotary International and our local Girl Scout boards) but most often they do not. Lack of specific liability insurance did not keep me from serving, however. I hoped that if the problem ever came up that my Blanket Liability Coverage would cover m...
by allenneal99
Thu Jul 11, 2013 12:28 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Merchant costs on 2% cash back cards
Replies: 125
Views: 29801

Re: Merchant costs on 2% cash back cards

The idea that higher end consumers, that qualify for the very best reward cards, should downgrade their method of purchase in order to provide a more profitable transaction for the merchant is ludicrous. Commerce works best when all parties approach a transaction from a perspective of enlightened self-interest. From the merchant perspective credit cards are great. They create much needed CASH FLOW. It was never my intention to ever suggest anyone should downgrade their cards, so I see your (and others) passionate point about using reward cards. I accept and use them too. But, I believe (and it's just a theory) -- that merchants do pay the consumer reward/cash back dollars, collectively. It's not a bad thing and it would make sense from a f...
by allenneal99
Thu Jul 11, 2013 12:07 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Merchant costs on 2% cash back cards
Replies: 125
Views: 29801

Re: Merchant costs on 2% cash back cards

Hi marbat, I have a slightly OT question. I give to my favorite charity by giving them a CC # online and they charge it at the frequency that I designate. Does my charity pay Square a percentage or a flat fee? I am asking because, if it is former then I am not giving them the full amount as I have intended. I know I know either way I am not but if latter I don't feel as guilty. Thanks, Faith I've been a Board member of several charities and it depends on the charity. It usually is a percentage fee. One charity I was Board on had a flat fee for c/c processing a long time ago (I think from Intuit or eTapestry, I can't remember). Don't feel guilty at all. Charities are more than happy to receive the money in any form especially credit card, e...
by allenneal99
Fri Jul 05, 2013 10:12 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Merchant costs on 2% cash back cards
Replies: 125
Views: 29801

Re: Merchant costs on 2% cash back cards

With all this rant, what do you want? Go back to cash...?! Please the swipe fees are built into the business model. These are just costs of doing business for crying out loud... I don't think we can go back to cash. You practically need a credit card to buy most goods these days. It was not my intention to rant. I really wanted to state the facts that many merchants face. I'm all for cost of doing business and understand this completely. Once upon a time when I was "consumer-minded" I would have been just as dismissive. Just like once upon a time I was "employee-minded" and I thought all businesses were flush with piles and piles of money and they never ran out. It wasn't until I started setting up merchants & non-p...
by allenneal99
Thu Jul 04, 2013 6:19 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Merchant costs on 2% cash back cards
Replies: 125
Views: 29801

Re: Merchant costs on 2% cash back cards

Credit card fees are built into the prices merchants charge, so I don't really have much sympathy there. People who use cash and other cheap forms of payment subsidize rewards card usage, not the merchants. I don't know how merchants can make enough money to stay in business let alone make any profit from sales. The credit card charges are a percentage of each sale, so the higher the merchant increases the price of goods/services, the more c/c fee taken out. Also, take into consideration that for most locales the c/c fee is against the sales tax too, not just the item(s) sold. Think of the c/c fees as a loaded mutual fund with a 5.75% front-load + 2.5% annual fee + .25% 12-b1 fee and a 30 day 2% redemption fee. Does that fund sound like a ...
by allenneal99
Thu Jul 04, 2013 2:13 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: Is this a new scam? [Check in excess of agreed amount]
Replies: 30
Views: 4001

Re: Is this a new scam?

It is not a new scam by any means. Just new techniques.

I do not know the official name of this scam, but it is definitely a prelude to identity theft.

They have your address information already and possibly name information. Do not deposit those checks. By simply depositing them, you will be giving up a lot more additional information.

You may want to make sure you are still receiving all of your mailed bills and statements -- and if you have online access to everything, verify your address was not recently changed for any accounts (including phone, cell, cable, credit card, brokerage, etc).

The overall scam of it is "social engineering". Everything else is just technique.
by allenneal99
Tue Jul 02, 2013 4:53 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Indexers Are Average?
Replies: 22
Views: 3072

Re: Indexers Are Average?

Index Investing is the "North Star" of investing. It's what all active managers compare themselves to and what some of them attempt to beat. From reading prospectus's and semi-annual reports of active funds, I've always wondered why actively managed funds only compare their performance to either the respective "benchmark index" or the "category average", but never to other related actively managed competing funds. :confused I wondered even more when active funds would sometimes change their "benchmark index" after a few years to a different "benchmark index". Whether the actively managed fund outperforms the index one year and then under-performs another year, it will always be "off cou...
by allenneal99
Fri Apr 26, 2013 2:03 pm
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Which employer would you pick?
Replies: 29
Views: 2759

Re: Which employer would you pick?

How long before you are eligible for benefits with Company B? It may take up to a year before you are eligible to contribute to Company B's 401(k), so what will you do in the meantime?
by allenneal99
Wed Apr 10, 2013 12:47 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: Real Estate Rental return calculations. Advice please.
Replies: 31
Views: 3155

Re: Real Estate Rental return calculations. Advice please.

You should run your numbers with lower monthly rental income amounts (800, 700, 500, 300) and run it with 0 rental income to see how long you will last in case you have to carry the rental without a renter. I would do a worse case scenario of 12 months of no renter just to see. Call this the contingency plan. Where I live a $75k house is either a) in a less than desirable neighborhood or b) out in the sticks. This would not be in a neighborhood that is up-and-coming, or near downtown or a large university, unless it is a tear-down. I do not think you can command $1000 per month out of it, I'm thinking more along $500-$750. I could be wrong, but you need to consider that the property is a $75k house for a reason. Forget what Zillow has to sa...
by allenneal99
Wed Apr 10, 2013 3:18 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Why invest in stocks at all?
Replies: 24
Views: 2998

Re: Why invest in stocks at all?

There is no rule that says you have to participate in the stock market.

I invest in stocks at today's prices for a future return on investment.
by allenneal99
Mon Apr 08, 2013 11:23 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Speed of I bond redemption? Mel?
Replies: 12
Views: 1841

Re: Speed of I bond redemption? Mel?

I redeemed my I-Bonds last year via Treasury Direct ACH process. The funds arrived into my checking account very quickly, within a day or two. It probably took me longer to put in the redemption order online, because I made the original purchases via automatic monthly transfer for several years (small denominations of $100-$50 per month for over 5 years). So I had to redeem each purchase individually (over 60). So keep that in mind. I've learned my lesson and will buy larger holdings (aka 1 time purchase of $5k) once or twice a year. But it was kind of neat to see all of those redemption transactions show up in my checking account individually. Took up several pages of my statement. I'm sure my bank was very happy I switched to online state...
by allenneal99
Mon Apr 01, 2013 7:36 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: IT Professionals - Applying For Job Without Requested Skills
Replies: 34
Views: 3758

Re: IT Professionals - Applying For Job Without Requested Sk

Be honest and be prepared. If the company is serious about the position they will do both a technical phone interview and an in-person technical interview (probably requiring you to write code). Be prepared to be grilled on the specifics of PHP. Do not underestimate PHP; it does not just take a week or two to learn it. It has its own nuances and a slight learning curve. It could take some time to become proficient with it. Your acid test should be to build something in PHP that you know how to do in Java. Pick a small web application you know how to do in Java (e.g. simple member site with registration and emailing and database back-end) and build the same thing in PHP using OOP. You will find that PHP OOP is different from Java OOP, as PHP...
by allenneal99
Thu Mar 28, 2013 11:32 am
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Bitcoin's Purpose in a Portfolio
Replies: 105
Views: 15310

Re: Bitcoins Purpose in a Portfolio

As a young investor, and having only done things the boglehead way, I sometimes feel a lot of sideline guilt... Such as, I was considering purchasing Beanie Babies back when they were $14 per Beanie Baby ... now they are over $88. As a young investor, and having only done things the boglehead way, I sometimes feel a lot of sideline guilt... Such as, I was considering purchasing Enron stock back when they were $14 per Enron share ... now they are over $88. As a young investor, and having only done things the boglehead way, I sometimes feel a lot of sideline guilt... Such as, I was considering purchasing Random Dotcom/Tech Stock back when they were $14 per Random Dotcom/Tech share ... now they are over $88. That is my consolation. I've felt ...
by allenneal99
Tue Mar 26, 2013 10:04 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: What do different classes of a fund mean?
Replies: 11
Views: 1080

Re: What do different classes of a fund mean?

The Bogleheads Wiki provides great explanations of mutual fund fees: http://www.bogleheads.org/wiki/Mutual_Funds_and_Fees http://www.bogleheads.org/wiki/Mutual_fund I was once an Ameriprise client. I distinctly remember the two-hour long meeting with my former adviser (and some other guy), where they explained in great detail (with a white-board, charts and graphs) the differences between the A, B and C share classes. Never was there a mention of no-load mutual funds. As a matter of fact, I distinctly remember the adviser telling me that "Class A shares ALWAYS out-perform all other share classes". Like a fool I fell for it. Until I learned that all loaded mutual funds are just money down the drain. The load on the fund goes into a...
by allenneal99
Sun Mar 24, 2013 3:06 pm
Forum: Investing - Theory, News & General
Topic: Re: Investing in house flipping
Replies: 41
Views: 6259

Re: Investing in house flipping

Plus, why do they need me at all ??? Why not get more money from another bank? That is a good question and now you must find out the answers to the obvious questions. Have you seen the business plan? What does it say beyond the Executive Summary? It should provide estimated revenue & cash flows, indicate other "owners" and interested parties, listing of competitors and provide information about the potential location(s) that will be invested in. It will also indicate why your money is needed, your potential return on investment and when you should expect to get your money back--plus interest. You're not going to give/lend them your money for "free" are you? I've been a "hard-money" lender in cases such as ...
by allenneal99
Tue Mar 12, 2013 11:03 am
Forum: Personal Investments
Topic: Need Advice.....Better Late Than Never
Replies: 31
Views: 5072

Re: Need Advice.....Better Late Than Never

I was once with Ameriprise aka American Express Financial Advisors aka IDS some time ago. I had a portfolio much smaller than yours and it took me several years to get away from them. The first advice I can give is regarding your Certificate. Before it matures, make sure you call Ameriprise and tell them not to renew it. They automatically renew them and if you redeem/transfer it before its next maturity you will get hit with an early withdrawal fee. I was hit with this and it wiped out all of my interest earned plus some of the principal. I was livid. I too had a lot of mutual funds that were all over the place. The first thing I did was I was started to sell them. It was a tough process because I had to call Ameriprise to have them do it....
by allenneal99
Wed Nov 21, 2012 3:47 pm
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: under/uninsured motor vehicle insurance?
Replies: 14
Views: 1226

Re: under/uninsured motor vehicle insurance?

It could pay your medical bills, lost wages, and pain and suffering. Even with your existing health insurance there are cases where some emergent care claims will be denied (although services will still be rendered). You may also want to factor in any intermediate-term care, like rehabilitation, depending on the severity of an injury.

Employer health insurance [I'm assuming you are referring to] has its limits and many people do not find them out until they've been in a serious auto accident.

Dependent upon the type of disability insurance you are covered with (long/short), it could take time before it kicks in with any payments.
by allenneal99
Sun Oct 21, 2012 9:30 pm
Forum: Personal Consumer Issues
Topic: I bought a rental car... and the gas mileage is horrendous
Replies: 32
Views: 4818

Re: I bought a rental car... and the gas mileage is horrendo

I've purchased two used previous rental cars in the past. Each time I had to replace the fuel filter and this resulted in a significant increase in mileage and acceleration. Plugged fuel filters usually do not throw any codes or check engine signals. I suspect rented vehicles get "abused" a little more than usual and people probably run the tanks to fumes as they drop it off at the rental place. Ironically, I also had to replace the wheel bearings on both the vehicles too. Rented cars tend to get driven up on curbs more often than non-rented vehicles. :D Both vehicles were purchased with less than 20k miles and were pre-2007 vehicles. Other than gas mileage, dead batteries and bad wheel bearings, they ran solidly well and were wel...
by allenneal99
Mon Sep 24, 2012 11:40 am
Forum: Personal Finance (Not Investing)
Topic: FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) question
Replies: 10
Views: 1324

Re: FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) questio

If you sell the stock this year and use it for your daughter's aid, it will not affect your son for the Fall of 2013. You will not have to report the amount. The questions on the FAFSA (numbers 88 & 89) ask about your (parent) total cash and total investments "as of today" . You will fill out the FAFSA for your son in January of 2013, so by then the investment would have been sold. Now, if you have some of the 7k left in the bank somewhere then you can report that as the total sum with everything else. There is not much weight on your investments, as far as the FAFSA is concerned regarding EFC. It is primarily concerned with the parents/student's earned incomes. They only raise red flags when what is reported on your 1040 does...